TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – After trailing by 21 points late in the third quarter, the Trine University football team scored four unanswered touchdowns to secure the come from behind victory over their hosts from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology by the score of 39-33.

This year's edition of the game between two of the top engineering universities in Indiana marks the fourth meeting. The Fightin' Engineers entered the game with two wins to the Thunder's one. All three games ended with a two point, or less, deficit.

The home side received the opening kickoff, but held the ball for just over a minute, going three-and-out. Trine responded with a slow and methodical first drive going 66 yards on 18 plays and chewing over eight minutes off the clock. The drive featured two fourth down conversions but ended on the five yard line with a Colton Wampler field goal.

Rose-Hulman found their rhythm after the kickoff, slashing quickly through the defense for the first touchdown of the game. After missing the extra point the score was 6-3.

The second quarter opened with Trine facing a long fourth down and set to punt the ball away. The Fightin' Engineers roughed the kicker on the attempt, giving up a first down. Cortaveon Barnett took full advantage of the opportunity breaking off three strong runs to the right side of the line putting the Thunder on the three with a fresh set of downs.

The home defense regrouped to make a stand, forcing a fourth down. Foregoing the field goal attempt, Cole Alexander rolled to the short side of the field and fired a pass to the back of the endzone. John Clampitt made the diving catch to retake the lead for the Thunder. After a missed extra point the score was 9-6.

It was a short-lived lead with Rose-Hulman scoring another quick touchdown to go up 13-9. It looked like that score would hold to halftime after the next three drives ended in punts, but a pair of costly penalties gave the Fightin' Engineers another prime chance to score. They lined up for a first and goal from the three, but Trestan Kern came up with fumble recovery for Trine to seemingly end the threat.

Deep in their own territory, Alexander ran three safe plays in hopes of getting out of the endzone. It didn't work and they punted a few plays later. Another costly penalty gave Rose-Hulman a final drive with just 34 seconds remaining. They converted for a touchdown and took a 19-9 lead into the intermission.

Trine had another grinding drive to start the second half going 75 yards on 12 plays and using over five minutes of clock. In the same way as the first drive of the game, it ended with a field goal making the score 19-12.

The home team dominated the next eight minutes. Scoring a pair of touchdowns and building a commanding 33-12 lead with just over two minutes remaining in the third quarter.

Alexander began the comeback on the team's final drive of the quarter. Desperate for a spark of offense, the Thunder went for it on fourth down in the offensive zone. Alexander connected with Evan Walker for not just the first down, but the touchdown on a 31-yard play. The extra point cut the lead to 33-19.

The defense came up with their first stop of the second half to start the fourth quarter, giving the ball quickly back to Trine. Saleem Felder started the drive with a pair of strong runs before Alexander connected with Gianni Pisano for 24 yards to get the team well into the Rose-Hulman side of the field. After a personal foul against the home side extended the drive, Craig Nichols eventually capped it off with a three-yard touchdown cutting the lead back to seven at 33-26, with 8:29 on the clock.

Trine forced another huge three-and-out, with the Thunder returning to offense just over a minute later. Alexander found Walker for 35 yards on the first play, before scrambling for 37 on the second to quickly put the Thunder in the redzone again. A couple of plays later, Alexander threw his third touchdown of the day, a seven-yard pass to Tristan Burrus. After Wampler added the extra point, the game was tied with five minutes remaining.

Another defensive stop forced a punt from Rose-Hulman that ended up being a beauty, pinning Trine on their own one-yard line. Alexander rushed for 16 yards and passed for another 56 to lead the 99-yard drive for the go-ahead touchdown. Felder accounted for the rest of the yards on the ground and capped the drive with a two-yard rush. The Thunder took just a six-point lead after a missed extra point, making the score 39-33 with just 14 seconds remaining.

The Thunder played prevent defense on the final two plays and ended the contest with the improbable come from behind victory.

Alexander finished the game with 277 yards of passing going 21-for-35 with three touchdowns and two interceptions. He was second on the team with 88 yards rushing. Barnett finished the game with 94 yards on eleven carries, before exiting the game with an injury in the third quarter. Fleder finished with 69 yards.

Walker led the team, and game, with 106 yards receiving on just three receptions. Burrus finished with 52 and Jermaine Williams came in with 50.

Defensively, Roman Schrock led a balanced defensive effort with five tackles. All told, eleven members of the team finished with three or more tackles in the game. Schrock also added one of the team's two sacks, with Colson Conrad added the second.

The Thunder rebounded to 1-1 overall following their first win of the season. They will travel to Bluffton, Ohio for their next game, facing Bluffton University on Saturday, September 21. Opening kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.